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Aitor Karanka is delighted at the prospect of working with Kieran Dowell for the rest of the season at Nottingham Forest – and believes the on-loan Everton man has all the attributes to be a top player.

While the Nottingham Forest boss also paid tribute to fellow goal scorer Ben Osborn, who he believes epitomises the spirit he wants to see from his side.

Dowell and Osborn both found the net in the space of three first half minutes, as the Reds secured an unexpected but entirely deserved 2-0 success at Wolves on Saturday.

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The future of attacking midfielder Dowell, 20, had only recently been secured at the City Ground, with the Premier League club having fleetingly pondered whether to recall him to Goodison Park.

Kieran Dowell battles for the ball (Image: Mark Fear)

Dowell had spoken of his happiness over staying with the Championship club in the build up to the game at Molineux – and offered a fresh demonstration of his value to the team as he put Forest ahead, with a deflected shot.

“It was really important to get him tied down for the rest of the season because he is a really talented player. He is strong, he is powerful, he has everything to be a top player,” said Karanka.

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The former Boro boss is far from the first manager to sing the praises of Osborn – nor to herald the 23-year-old’s versatility.

Osborn flourished in an orthodox central midfield role at Molineux, having previously played as a left back, a deep-lying central midfielder, on the left wing and as a number 10 during this season alone.

Karanka believes Osborn has the quality to do a good job in almost any position on the pitch – but says it is his character that is his biggest asset.

“Ben is the kind of player who can play wherever he wants, because he is so good,” said Karanka.

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Forest hope David Vaughan will recover from a slight injury picked up in training on Friday to face Hull in the FA Cup next weekend.

But, if the former Welsh international does not recover, Osborn may well be asked to slot into a deeper role again, with Liam Bridcutt set to sit out the next two matches through suspension, after picking up his tenth booking of the campaign at Wolves.

“We knew that was the situation when we arrived here. We told the players we have to play with intensity and he is no different,” said Karanka of Bridcutt.

Preparation is a key word for Karanka, who believes Forest performed to the levels he felt they were always capable of at Molineux.

“This was a team I was expecting; this was what I expected to see from these players,” said Karanka. “Against Villa, I did not want to change the team that had played against Arsenal. They deserved to play.